Gosh. I was just in the bus terminal and I was overseeing
all of the transfers and I got to talk to a ton of new missionaries and they
were all telling jokes and talking about the elections and singing songs I don’t
recognize and lots of other stuff. I felt like Winston in New Girl when he gets
back to the states from playing basketball and goes to his job interview. When
I get home, I am going to have to lock myself in a room for a month and catch
up on pop culture. I also just found out I am staying here in Pichi Pelluco
(WOOT WOOT).
So Elder Ramer and I had a baptism this week, and it was a
very small and simple service. Sebastian is a really good kid who has grown up
in some pretty tough circumstances and he talks so reverently about God and
Christ now that he knows them. It is really special.
I also had an experience that changed my life this week. We
were walking and these drunk guys started yelling at us, which happens a lot,
and we kept walking. I don’t know why but I felt drawn back. I walked over and
started talking to them. We talked for a little and then I just sat down next
to them and asked one about himself. I was shocked to hear that in the last
year he had lost his mother, father, daughter, and then wife to cancer. He
cried into my shoulder as he talked about how he hated his life. He admitted
that he didn’t agree with the way that he was living, but that in all reality
he didn’t have much to live for anyway. He asked me why God had done that to
him and all I could say was ¨because He loves you”. It was really eye opening
to me and made me more able to love and not judge.
We will be having a baptism every week for the next 3 weeks.
This week I am really excited for Juliana. She is so ready to make this
covenant.
I love you,
Elder Rich
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Elder Ramer, Sebastian, and Elder Rich at Sebastian's baptism
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Sebastian's baptism
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Puerto Montt is a port city known as the gateway to the Andes Mountains. Those are two volcanos on the horizon. The Osorno Volcano is on the left, and Calbuco on the right.
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A view of the Pacific Ocean from Puerto Montt
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In the distance is Calbuco, an active volcano.
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